Coupler lock lifter toggle link



Sept 1952 J. N. BORLAND COUPLER LOCK LIFTER TOGGLE LINK Filed Oct 17, 1949 T w v v 3 $5 2 AJ m 55 1%? w J w i I u m n 5:" a A Patented Sept. 9, 1952 i 1- rooiirnnittoon'mi rsn TQGGLE LINK 4 Jaiiiesfrt. eoflmagohicago, 111., mass o "Standard ltailway" Equipment Manufacturing" Compan'y; Chicago, 111., a corporation ofDela f Ap licationbctober. 17, 1949, seg e ting:

- teams.

This invention relates to improvements in railway car couplers and more particularly to an improvement in the lock lifter toggle link for operating the lock of said couplers. a

In the present standard E bottom operated couplers a toggle link is connected at one end to the bottom leg of the lock and the rotor lever is connected at one end to-the other end of the toggle link and at the otherendis pivotally connected for rotary motion. on alug at the rear of the coupler, said rotor lever having an opening therethrough intermediate its ends for connection to the hooked end of an associated operating rod. Rotation of the rod causes the rotor lever to swing on its pivot and thereby lift the toggle link which raises the lock and unlocks the coupler. When the operating rod is rotated the toggle link must move upwardly through an opening in the bottom of the coupler, which opening allows but a minimum of clearance for the toggle link and associated rotor lever and, due to various conditions of wear of the coupler operating mechanism parts the rotor lever not infrequently strikes the bottom wall of said opening in its upward travel, thereby rendering impossible the proper functioning of the coupler operating mechanism.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the invention to provide a toggle link having an external contour forming a cam surface to direct the toggle link toward the center of the coupler opening and thereby guide the rotor lever into the opening free and clear of the side walls forming said opening.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description of the invention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing forming part of this application, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved lock lifter toggle link, showing its attachment to associated parts of a railway car coupler in rest position, the coupler head being shown in central vertical section.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the parts in raised position.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the improved lock lifter toggle link and fragments of the asso ciated coupler parts showing the toggle link in rest position.

Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 2 showing the parts in elevated position.

The lower portion of a standard type E but bottom operated railway car coupler is shown in section at l, and the essential parts of the coupier, insofar as the {invention is concerned, are the knucklethrower 2; loci" 3, togglelink a,- and which: are' pivotally joined rotor lever 5; all of one to the othen H p The rotor levert isor the c'c'mrrion rot r ty' havinga hooked end ewhifcn hooks 0, nion and the otherend' is bifurcat' and pivoted, as at s, toonfe en'djof the improved toggle link 4. The othe'fen'd-loftoggle link [is provided with a laterally extending, pir'itlefla which extendsthrough the"diagonally' disposed elongated hole ID in lower end of lock 3. This arrangement of parts is old in the art.

The rotor lever 5 is provided intermediate its ends with a transverse hole therethrough indicated at H, through which the hooked end [2 of a coupler operating rod 13 extends, the free end of said end I2 bearing against shoulder I4 formed in lower surface of the rotor lever 5. Thus upon clockwise rotation of said rod, as viewed in Figures 1 and 2, rod l3 revolves rotor lever 5 about trunnion 1, pushing upwardly on toggle link 4, which in turn raises lock 3 and unlocks the coupler.

The lower portion of the lock 3, the toggle link t and portion of rotor lever 5 which is pivotally connected to toggle link 4, must move vertically through the hole I4 in the bottom of the coupler, which hole I4 is restricted both in width and length to allow movements of the parts therethrough with but limited tolerance. Because of various conditions of wear, the pivotal connections of the parts become loose, which parts then tend to buckle sidewise during operation, resulting in one or the other of the bifurcated ends l5 of the rotor lever bumping against the bottom edge of the walls of hole M, which, of course, positively prevent further upward movement of the parts. To overcome this difficulty there is integrally formed on the surface of the toggle link 4, just above the bifurcated end of rotor lever 5, a laterally projecting cam lug [6, which extends outwardly under the pintle in the path of the bottom edge of walls of said hole I 4 and overhangs the upper end of one of the bifurcated portions of the rotor lever so that if the parts of said mechanism are worn the cam surface on the end of said lug would strike the edge of said walls and direct the parts upwardly into said hole, preventing contact of said ends IS with said walls. In this manner the rotary lock lift lever of necessity must enter the lock hole in the bottom of l.

lever pivotally connected at one end to said coupler, the other end of said lever being bifurcated, a toggle link pivotally connected at its lower end between the bifurcated portion of the rotor lever, and having a pintle extending laterally of said coupler for pivotal connection to said look, a lug adjacent the lower end of said toggle link and under said pintle which overhangs the upper end of one of said bifurcated portions, said lug having a cam surface engageable with a wall defining said opening, whereby in rotating said rotor lever said cam surface insures entry of the bifurcated end of said lever in said opening.

2. In a railway car coupler having a lock opening, a look within said opening, a rotor lever blfurcated at one end and pivotally connected at its other end to said coupler, a toggle link having a pintle at one end extending laterally of said coupler, for pivotal connection to said lock, said link being plvotally connected to said rotor lever between said bifurcated portions, a lug projecting laterally from said toggle link, under said pintle, and overhanging the end of one of said bifurcated portions, said lug having a cam surface engageable with a wall defining said opening, whereby in rotatingsaid rotor lever, said cam surface insures entry of the bifurcated end of said'lever in said opening.

3. A toggle link for a railway car coupler having an opening therein, said link having a pintle nection to a coupler lock, an opening at the other end for pivotal connection to a rotor lever, and a lug projecting laterally therefrom in the direction of and under said pintle, said lug having a cam surface slidably engageable with a wall of said opening to guide movement of said rotor lever into said opening.

JAIVLES N. BORLAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,475,634 Kelso Nov. 2'7, 1923 1,479,100 Kelso Jan. 1, 1924 2,170,891

Bazeley Aug. 29, 1939 

